{"id":11386,"date":"2025-08-27T08:24:36","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T08:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/?p=11386"},"modified":"2025-08-27T08:24:39","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T08:24:39","slug":"bills-2025-nfl-season-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/bills-2025-nfl-season-preview","title":{"rendered":"Buffalo Bills 2025 NFL Season Preview and Picks: How Does This Team Ever Get Over the Hump to a Super Bowl?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Stop me if you\u2019ve heard this one before, but the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/a.-football\/team\/buffalo-bills-6657\">Buffalo Bills<\/a> are coming off a playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and they\u2019re still on a short list of favorites to win the Super Bowl this year as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/a.-football\/player\/josh-allen-63292\">Josh Allen<\/a> and company try to get over the hump in the AFC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Talking about the Bills in 2025 should be similar to how the team was viewed in 1994 after they lost their fourth-straight Super Bowl, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/a.-football\/league\/nfl-352\">NFL<\/a> record you\u2019ll likely never see matched again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those K-Gun teams of the 90s were resilient, led by a Hall of Fame core and coach Marv Levy. &nbsp;But even that team could only take so much heartbreak. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/teams\/buf\/1994.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">1994<\/a>, the Bills finished 7-9 and missed the playoffs, sparing the world another Buffalo Super Bowl blowout as they likely had no shot against the 49ers that year if they did get back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bills haven\u2019t been back to the Super Bowl since, but no one is really viewing January\u2019s latest loss in the AFC Championship Game as the end of the run for these Bills, who are going into Year 8 for Josh Allen and Sean McDermott. Even Jim Kelly and Marv Levy only spent 11 seasons together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, the Bills have the third-best odds (+750 at FanDuel) to win Super Bowl LX. They\u2019re heavily favored to win the AFC East for the sixth year in a row, and they have the highest odds of any 2025 team to earn a No. 1 seed (+260 at FanDuel).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the sky is not the limit for this Buffalo team. Not when the Chiefs still sit at the top of the mountain after winning the AFC in five of the last six seasons. Just as the NFC used to turn away the Bills in every Super Bowl, the Chiefs are 4-0 in the playoffs against Buffalo since 2020 despite the fact that Buffalo has won the last four meetings in the regular season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s no precedent for a rivalry like this, going 4-0 against a team in the regular season and 0-4 in the playoffs over the last eight meetings. But going 0-4 is kind of Buffalo\u2019s thing. Both runs even have their own version of \u201cWide Right\u201d attached to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the 1990-93 Bills couldn\u2019t escape facing the superior NFC in the Super Bowl during a run where the NFC won 13 straight Super Bowls in 1984-96, maybe the 2025 Bills can find a way to avoid Kansas City in January if they\u2019re going to get to a Super Bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fortunately, the 2025 schedule just so happens to favor Buffalo being able to put themselves in the best position to avoid the Chiefs. Also, they overachieved a bit last year, so there is real room for improvement with this team, especially on offense in the second full year with offensive coordinator Joe Brady.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s look at Buffalo\u2019s latest case of coming up short in January, how they can avoid turnover regression and claim a No. 1 seed, and the best Bills bets for 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><h2>Table of Contents<\/h2><nav><ul><li><a href=\"#previously-on-bills-it-was-supposed-to-be-our-year-episode-iv\">Previously on BILLS: \u201cIt Was Supposed to Be Our Year\u201d Episode IV \u00a0<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#how-do-the-bills-get-over-the-hump-for-a-super-bowl\">How Do the Bills Get Over the Hump for a Super Bowl?<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#option-no-1-get-a-first-round-bye-with-the-no-1-seed\">Option No. 1: Get a First-Round Bye with the No. 1 Seed<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#option-no-2-luck-out-and-avoid-the-chiefs-in-january\">Option No. 2: Luck Out and Avoid the Chiefs in January<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#option-no-3-man-up-play-better-and-close\">Option No. 3: Man Up, Play Better, and Close<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#buffalo-bills-battling-the-five-year-rule-and-turnover-regression-in-2025\">Buffalo Bills Battling the Five-Year Rule and Turnover Regression in 2025<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#the-five-year-rule-time-running-out-for-sean-mc-dermott\">The Five-Year Rule: Time Running Out for Sean McDermott?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#buffalos-turnover-regression-warning\">Buffalo\u2019s Turnover Regression Warning<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#buffalo-bills-offseason-review\">Buffalo Bills Offseason Review<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#offense-better-receivers\">Offense: Better Receivers?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#defense-wheres-the-big-pass-rusher\">Defense: Where\u2019s the Big Pass Rusher?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#best-bets-for-the-2025-bills\">Best Bets for the 2025 Bills \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"previously-on-bills-it-was-supposed-to-be-our-year-episode-iv\">Previously on BILLS: \u201cIt Was Supposed to Be Our Year\u201d Episode IV &nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Expectations were still high for Buffalo in 2024 after the trade of No. 1 wide receiver Stefon Diggs to Houston. In fact, when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/buffalo-bills-2024-nfl-season-preview\">I wrote the Buffalo preview 13 months ago<\/a>, I used the Diggs trade to make the case for Josh Allen winning his first MVP in 2024 as that\u2019d be part of the narrative that he\u2019s doing it without Diggs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After a 3-0 start, that played out perfectly with Allen lighting up the Cardinals, Dolphins, and Jaguars (three losing teams). However, the Bills were crushed 35-10 in Baltimore and Allen completed 9-of-30 passes in a loss in Houston, including three straight incompletions that helped the Texans set up a game-winning field goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At that point it was clear that the Bills didn\u2019t have enough ammo to compete with contenders without Diggs. They got rid of Marquez Valdes-Scantling and traded for veteran <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/a.-football\/player\/amari-cooper-62601\">Amari Cooper<\/a>, but whether it was injury or not grasping the playbook, Cooper had a marginal impact, averaging 37.1 yards per game in Buffalo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The truth about Buffalo in 2024 is that Allen\u2019s MVP case really never passed the sniff test.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For starters, the Bills used him less than in previous years while the offensive line and running backs never played better for Buffalo. Beyond James Cook rushing for 1,009 yards and 16 touchdowns, Ty Johnson and Ray Davis provided some great receiving options, especially on mismatches down the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Lamar Jackson had elite production with every type of target in 2024.<br><br>Josh Allen&#8230;not so much. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TjG0hF99sW\">pic.twitter.com\/TjG0hF99sW<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Scott Kacsmar (@ScottKacsmar) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ScottKacsmar\/status\/1960538597586604517?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">August 27, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Allen finished No. 1 in EPA\/play on passes to backfield targets, but he was No. 9 to wide targets, No. 16 to slot targets, and No. 11 to tight targets according to NFL Pro. Of all the MVP-winning seasons since 2018, Allen\u2019s is the only one that didn\u2019t rank top 8 to slot targets, and his average rank over those four categories (9.25) was the worst of all MVP winners since 2018. Even as a runner, Allen\u2019s 31.2 rushing yards per game was his fifth-best season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The passing game had some flaws without Diggs that the rest of the circumstances in Buffalo were able to cover up. Still, you have to think there\u2019s room for improvement in 2025:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Bills were masters at winning the turnover battle (more on that below), leading to the best average starting field position for Allen\u2019s offense.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Buffalo finished No. 7 on third down, its lowest ranking in the last five years.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Allen\u2019s passing success rate (49.1%) was the fifth highest of his career.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Beyond Cooper\u2019s struggles, newcomer Curtis Samuel also had a marginal impact at receiver.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rookie Keon Coleman had some good moments but also some mistakes for a young player as you\u2019d expect, and he didn\u2019t create much separation, supporting the worries about his scouting report.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tight end Dalton Kincaid\u2019s numbers took a step back from his rookie year as his catch rate sunk from 80.2% to 58.7%, and he only averaged 6.0 yards per target.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Even Khalil Shakir, who saw his targets more than double as the new WR1, saw his efficiency numbers drop like a rock in his larger role \u2013 he\u2019s still their best wide receiver and played well, but his success rate dropped 20.3 points and his yards per target dropped by 5.4 yards.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Throw in Buffalo finishing with a 2-3 record against winning teams, and it sounds a bit mad that this season was framed as Allen\u2019s best to win his first MVP. But the moment he turned that 4th-and-2 against the Chiefs in Week 11 into a game-clinching touchdown run, that basically clinched his MVP award right there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The media only built him up from that point, and CBS\u2019 Tony Romo even let the cat out of the bag in a Week 16 game that the MVP tiebreaker is Josh has never won the award while Lamar Jackson, the other favorite, already has two, so you\u2019ll side with the guy who doesn\u2019t have any yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Tony Romo on the MVP race between Lamar Jackson &amp; Josh Allen: <br><br>&quot;I think they&#39;re tied in my brain. I think that Josh Allen might get the edge, only because Lamar&#39;s had two. If Josh had two, you&#39;re gonna side with the guy who doesn&#39;t have one. That&#39;s just human nature in my\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/b9POkiGVLM\">pic.twitter.com\/b9POkiGVLM<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Bobby Trosset (@bobbybaltim0re) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bobbybaltim0re\/status\/1873467646236094818?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">December 29, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>You know, <em>diversify<\/em> the winner\u2019s list, make the MVP <em>equitable <\/em>for all, and make sure the list of MVP winners in this era is <em>inclusive<\/em> of every elite quarterback like it\u2019s a lifetime achievement award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sure enough, Jackson won the first-team All-Pro honor at quarterback. But enough of those same 50 voters \u2013 namely Dan Orlovsky, Emmanuel Acho, and Chris Simms \u2013 went against logic and voting standards to switch their MVP vote to Allen, giving him the award in a 27-23 upset. Not sure how you can justify the most valuable player not being the best quarterback in the league too, but that\u2019s what some of them did. That\u2019s why it\u2019s fair game to call 2024 a charity or DEI MVP for Allen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Months later, people are still talking about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I literally just finished watching Lamar Jackson&#39;s 2024 season highlights..they robbed my boy of the MVP last year.<\/p>&mdash; Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DezBryant\/status\/1957046505023340657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">August 17, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Not to get sidetracked by the 2024 MVP again, but the 2024 Bills stood out so much in some key statistical areas that it led me to creating a new metric during the playoffs called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/nfl-fraud-alert-rating-super-bowl-lix#what-is-fraud-alert-rating\"><strong>Fraud Alert Rating (FAR)<\/strong><\/a> that looked at strength of schedule, turnover margin, and average starting field position on offense. There had to be some explanation for why the Bills could score so many points despite not being nearly as dominant or efficient as most teams who score over 500 points are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sure enough, the 2024 Bills led all teams in FAR (+5.86), and they rank No. 5 out of all 736 teams since 2002. They smoked an inexperienced Denver team in the wild card, then watched the Ravens shoot themselves in the foot with three turnovers and a dropped 2-point conversion to sneak away with a 27-25 win in the divisional round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That set up the rematch with Kansas City in the AFC Championship Game, and things were supposed to be different this time. It was a tight game again, but Allen came out very erratic with some near turnovers, and the Bills ended up recovering all five of the game\u2019s fumbles to win another turnover battle 1-0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But after being so unstoppable on the Tush Push throughout the year, the Chiefs repeatedly stuffed Allen on those plays, including a 2-point conversion stop, and the big one in the fourth quarter at midfield on a 4th-and-1. The Chiefs allegedly saw he was always going to his left on these plays, so they were ready for it. You\u2019d think after barely converting one in the fourth quarter, the Bills would try something else like a play-action pass or naked bootleg, but they kept trying to sneak Allen on maybe the worst game any quarterback has had on these plays:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Josh Allen has been stuffed short of the line to gain by the Chiefs on three QB sneaks so far tonight, the most run stuffs by a defense against sneaks in a game in the NGS era (since 2016). <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/osz8m69VUi\">https:\/\/t.co\/osz8m69VUi<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NextGenStats\/status\/1883699883934417376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">January 27, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Even with all of those mistakes, the fact is the Bills had a fourth-quarter lead before the defense was shredded for 11 more points as the Chiefs scored a season-high 32 points. The fact is Allen got the ball back in a 32-29 game with 3:33 left, and instead of leading his first fourth-quarter comeback of the season, he moved the ball 17 yards and the Bills turned it over on downs. The offense never got the ball back and the Chiefs ran out the clock to advance to another Super Bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the pivotal 4th-and-5, the Chiefs had the right blitz call ready, and the Bills didn\u2019t have a quick hitter or anything to counter, so Allen ended up scrambling to throw up a prayer for Kincaid, who had to turn the opposite direction to make a diving attempt for the ball, which didn\u2019t work out, an end to his painful second season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just like that, the Bills\u2019 dream season ended. Who knows if they get past the Eagles in New Orleans, but this was supposed to be the year the Chiefs were vulnerable. They had left guard Joe Thuney at left tackle and the Bills, unlike the Eagles in Super Bowl 59, were unable to exploit it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Better luck next year? But at some point, you can\u2019t keep trying the same things and expect to get a different result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-do-the-bills-get-over-the-hump-for-a-super-bowl\">How Do the Bills Get Over the Hump for a Super Bowl?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We don\u2019t want to say the Bills only have a Kansas City problem, because there was that home playoff loss to the 2022 Bengals that wasn\u2019t even close. But the Bengals struggle to make the playoffs, and the Ravens still struggle in January. Unless a new challenger arises in the AFC, it\u2019s likely coming down to these three teams again in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, what can the Bills realistically do to get over the hump and get one of these strong regular seasons to lead to a Super Bowl appearance and maybe even that elusive championship win?<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"960\" src=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-26-1.jpg\" alt=\"NFL Bills Josh Allen Patrick Mahomes\" class=\"wp-image-11393\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-26-1.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-26-1-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Sinners (2025).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"option-no-1-get-a-first-round-bye-with-the-no-1-seed\">Option No. 1: Get a First-Round Bye with the No. 1 Seed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>One path we haven\u2019t seen Buffalo try during this Allen-McDermott era is to get a first-round bye by winning the AFC\u2019s No. 1 seed. Not that a home game in Buffalo guarantees anything after the Bills lost in 2022 (Bengals) and 2023 (Chiefs) at home, but they were 10-0 at home in 2024, including a regular-season win over the Chiefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But stop being a bridesmaid who gets the No. 2 seed. The Bills always lose some inexplicable game(s) in the regular season that hurt them for the No. 1 seed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In 2021, it was the 9-6 loss in Jacksonville and the 14-10 loss to New England where the Patriots threw three passes in the wind.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In 2022, it was Allen fumbling at his goal line when trying to run out the clock on the Vikings.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In 2023, take your pick of turnover parades against the Jets and Broncos, or losing in overtime to the Eagles, or making Mac Jones look clutch for the Patriots on a late touchdown drive.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In 2024, it was giving away the game in Houston and giving up 44 points to the Rams.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Fortunately, the 2025 schedule looks like a godsend to the Bills with the way the home games break down:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Bills will face four top 10 contenders based on Super Bowl odds, and all four of those games are in Buffalo against the Ravens (Week 1), Chiefs (Week 9), Bengals (Week 14), and Eagles (Week 17).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Beyond that, the Bills also host Tampa Bay (Week 11) and will get a few extra days to prepare for the Steelers in Pittsburgh (Week 13) after playing on a Thursday night in Houston.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We know the Bills own the AFC East, but they also get to play arguably the weakest NFC division with the South.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>That trip to Cleveland in Week 16 should be light work before a big one, a potential Super Bowl preview, with the Eagles in Week 17, so there\u2019s a good chance to get some tape on the Eagles and how they match up.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It would be hard for Buffalo to dream up a better schedule than this if the No. 1 seed is the ultimate goal this regular season. The Week 7 bye is a little early, but that\u2019s why you want to get the first-round bye instead of having to play some No. 7 seed again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bills have had a lot of injured defenders late in the season each year, so extra rest could really pay off in keeping everyone healthier. Then it\u2019s just two home wins to get to the Super Bowl. That top seed must be the goal this year, and they can thank this schedule for giving them a great opportunity to make it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"option-no-2-luck-out-and-avoid-the-chiefs-in-january\">Option No. 2: Luck Out and Avoid the Chiefs in January<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you can\u2019t beat them, avoid them. That\u2019s not in your control most of the time, but it\u2019s happened before in NFL history. The Steelers had a lot of struggles with the Patriots, but they avoided them in all three of their Super Bowl runs in 2005, 2008, and 2010, or else Ben Roethlisberger may have ended up like Allen as a quarterback with no Super Bowl appearances in his first seven seasons (or ever).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2005, the Broncos took care of the Patriots in the divisional round while the Steelers upset the top-seeded Colts the next day as a No. 6 seed. In 2008, the Steelers beat the Patriots without Brady in the regular season, helping that team to miss the playoffs despite an 11-5 record. In 2010, the Jets had Pittsburgh\u2019s back with a massive upset in the divisional round in New England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re the Bills, you\u2019re hoping the AFC West hype is real for a change and that Denver or the Chargers are ready to take down the Chiefs, who have won that division nine years in a row. Forcing the Chiefs to be a wild card team and bottom three seed would certainly be a huge change for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the Chiefs are the No. 2 seed, then maybe you can force them to beat a team like Baltimore in the divisional round before having to come to Buffalo for the AFC Championship Game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019d be even better if the Chiefs took a step back, as 15-win teams often do, and finished as the No. 3 seed. Then they\u2019d likely have to beat the AFC North winner on the road before even getting to Buffalo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Things could also backfire and a wild-card Kansas City team could end up coming to Buffalo right out of the gate in the divisional round. Maybe McDermott blows the preparation after never having a bye before, and the Chiefs smoke the Bills again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the best result for Buffalo would just be for another team to step up and take down the Chiefs. They\u2019ve had four chances to do it themselves, and Bills fans are still stuck on \u201c13 Seconds\u201d as the one that got away. Three seasons have been played since then and you\u2019ve had more chances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe just hope another team slays the dragon. Like how Brett Favre didn\u2019t have to beat Dallas in 1996 when he won his only Super Bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"option-no-3-man-up-play-better-and-close\">Option No. 3: Man Up, Play Better, and Close<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Occam\u2019s razor, the Chiefs aren\u2019t going anywhere, so the Bills just need to man up and play better to beat them. They\u2019ve done it four years in a row in the regular season, so why can\u2019t they for once do it in the playoffs? Just once make Mahomes look ordinary as some NFC teams have done in Super Bowls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By now, we know <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/do-nfl-teams-blueprint-beat-chiefs-mahomes\">the Mahomes blueprint<\/a> is to never blitz and get pressure with four-man rushes. The Bills were ahead of the curve when they never blitzed him once in their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/boxscores\/202010190buf.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">first meeting with Mahomes<\/a> in the 2020 COVID season, a 26-17 loss at home where Mahomes still solved them on a crucial 3rd-and-12:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">What decided the No. 1 seed in the AFC this year?<br><br>This 37-yard completion from Mahomes to Byron Pringle on 3rd &amp; 12. Otherwise Allen would have had the ball back in a 23-17 game with 4:00 left and a chance for a GWD.<br><br>The Forgotten Play of the Year <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UzGqD227iZ\">pic.twitter.com\/UzGqD227iZ<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Scott Kacsmar (@ScottKacsmar) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ScottKacsmar\/status\/1352036509214531584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">January 20, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>There goes the No. 1 seed that year, and that was the start of this rivalry. Just once the Bills need to make the crucial stop on defense, and Allen needs to have his legacy drive on offense. Not just 13 Seconds either. One that puts the game away. One that doesn\u2019t even let Mahomes touch the ball again as he\u2019s done to Allen in that game and to Brock Purdy in overtime of the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Allen (0-6) is still seeking his first overtime win in his NFL career.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Steve Young and the 49ers had to get past the Cowboys in 1994 to win their Super Bowl. Peyton Manning\u2019s Colts had to beat Brady\u2019s Patriots in 2006 to get to their Super Bowl. It would only be fitting that Allen must conquer the Chiefs in January if he\u2019s ever going to get to a Super Bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He needs his moment, and he\u2019s already lost out on several good opportunities to do it. How many chances can you realistically get in a career?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"buffalo-bills-battling-the-five-year-rule-and-turnover-regression-in-2025\">Buffalo Bills Battling the Five-Year Rule and Turnover Regression in 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As our final AFC team preview for 2025, we\u2019re hitting on a variety of topics for the Bills, a contender with a deep history of close calls. We know what this team is about fundamentally, so it\u2019s not so much about what\u2019s changed or what needs fixed. It\u2019s about making the next opportunity count, because these Super Bowl windows don\u2019t stay open forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We touched on some of these topics in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/ravens-2025-nfl-season-preview\">Baltimore Ravens preview<\/a>, another important piece of this 2025 NFL story. Two things the Ravens and Bills share in common is that this is Year 8 for their coach and quarterback duo, and both offenses had very few turnovers last year and will try to avoid <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/nfl-turnover-regression-in-2025\">turnover regression<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s look at each topic in more detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-five-year-rule-time-running-out-for-sean-mc-dermott\">The Five-Year Rule: Time Running Out for Sean McDermott?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"635\" src=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2231732498-1024x635.jpg\" alt=\"Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott looks on during the NFL Preseason 2025\" class=\"wp-image-11405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2231732498-1024x635.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2231732498-300x186.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2231732498-768x476.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2231732498-1536x953.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2231732498-scaled.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> (Photo by Mike Ehrmann\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>Five-Year Rule<\/strong> is that no team has ever won its first Super Bowl by starting the same quarterback for the same coach for more than five seasons. This actually goes back to 1950, so that\u2019s 75 years of championship history. If it\u2019s going to happen for your duo, it usually happens fast or not at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We know Allen isn\u2019t going anywhere anytime soon, so it\u2019s really on Sean McDermott to get the job done or he may end up getting replaced by someone who can. This is already Year 8 for McDermott and Allen, so that\u2019s really pushing it as far as duos go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As we already showed in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/ravens-2025-nfl-season-preview\">Baltimore preview<\/a>, Allen-McDermott and Jackson-Harbaugh will be the 14th and 15th duos to make it at least eight seasons together without a Super Bowl win together. But of those first 13 duos, they all peaked by Year 6 together with eight of them losing at least one Super Bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With Allen already making the playoffs six times, that means he\u2019d tie Peyton Manning this year as the only quarterbacks to need more than five postseason appearances to reach their first Super Bowl, both doing so in their seventh postseason trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Manning got there with his second head coach, Tony Dungy. We\u2019ll see how much longer the Bills want to go with McDermott leading the charge if he keeps producing the same results that keep coming up short in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"buffalos-turnover-regression-warning\"><strong>Buffalo\u2019s Turnover Regression Warning<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A few things we know about turnovers in the NFL is that they\u2019re less frequent today than at any other point in NFL history with the way offenses call safer, shorter, quicker passes and stress ball security. We also know they tend to have a fluky nature and regress to the mean on both sides of the ball, and it\u2019s even harder to keep getting takeaways on defense than it is to avoid them on offense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the 2024 Bills had a historic year for winning the turnover battle that it would be a shock if there wasn\u2019t <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/nfl-turnover-regression-in-2025\">some regression<\/a> this year. Let\u2019s review the list we looked at in March for the 2024 Bills:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The 2024 Bills tied the 2019 Saints with a record-low 8 turnovers for the season, but they did it in a 17-game season while the Saints played 16 games.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Including the playoffs, the 2024 Bills finished with 8 giveaways in 20 games, a record low for any 20-game span in NFL history.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Bills have not lost the turnover battle (finished positive or neutral) in 22 straight games, the longest streak in NFL history and an active one they carry into 2025. The 1952-53 Rams had a 21-game streak.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The 2024 Bills easily led the NFL with a +24 turnover margin, which is tied for the 13th-best mark in history and the seventh best mark since 1966.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The 2024 Bills were +14 in lost fumble recoveries in the regular season, tied for the second best since 2000. They led the league in 2024 with 16 fumbles recovered and 2 fumbles lost.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Including the playoffs, the Bills were a staggering +17 in fumbles.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The 2024 Bills are the only offense since at least 1992 to have zero lost fumbles by non-quarterbacks as Josh Allen had both of their lost fumbles.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Buffalo did not turn the ball over in the final five games of 2024 (playoffs included), tied for the fourth-longest streak in NFL history, and they can become just the fourth team to do it in six straight games in Week 1 of 2025.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This is astounding stuff, but it\u2019s not something you can rely on to happen again in 2025. <strong>If you want to know why Allen still ranked highly in advanced metrics like EPA and QBR while not doing so hot in other areas, it\u2019s because of the lack of turnovers (and sacks) in his 2024 season<\/strong>. Allen had just 25 of those plays all season (14 sacks, 6 interceptions, 5 fumbles, 2 fumbles lost).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Try as they might to dish out blame for those plays, those advanced metrics hate negative plays like fumbles, interceptions, and sacks even if they sometimes are context-based like a Hail Mary on 4th-and-20, or a tipped ball that takes a bad bounce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While Allen is one of the hardest quarterbacks to sack and has a great offensive line, which should keep that number low again, I don\u2019t think the Bills suddenly figured out how to avoid all negative plays. Lord knows they tried to turn it over several times against the Chiefs in the AFC title game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some of the safest bets of 2025 that I wish a sportsbook would give me odds for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Some Buffalo player(s) not named Allen will lose a fumble this year.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Allen will likely throw more than 6 interceptions this year.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Bills will not be +14 (or +17 including playoffs) in fumble recoveries this year.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Bills will lose the turnover battle in a game (or multiple games) in 2025.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Bills (+24) will not lead the NFL in turnover margin again as no team since 1970 has been able to lead in that stat in back-to-back seasons.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s all going to happen this season, and that last point just proves how real turnover regression is. You\u2019d be hard pressed to find another stat that no team has been able to lead in consecutive seasons since the merger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But as is always the case with turnovers, it\u2019s about limiting their damage and avoiding the costliest ones. But if the Bills go -3 in turnovers on opening night against the Ravens as payback for January, they\u2019re probably going to lose that game and lose their edge on home-field advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, let\u2019s see how the Bills, among other offenses with historically-low turnovers in 2024, manage this in 2025. Unless they learned something secret about the bounce of the ball that no one else has in over 100 years of professional football, the fumble luck regression alone should knock them out of the top spot in turnover differential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"buffalo-bills-offseason-review\"><strong>Buffalo Bills Offseason Review<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bills retained their coordinators and extended running back James Cook to a very favorable deal for the team at $12 million per season. We\u2019ve already covered so many talking points about the Bills and what could change statistically, so let\u2019s look at the few new players that will also impact their season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"offense-better-receivers\">Offense: Better Receivers?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Buffalo didn\u2019t change much offensively, and that may not be a bad thing. The offensive line is intact after everyone played at least 85% of the snaps last year, so that\u2019s great news for Allen and the backs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amari Cooper (Raiders) and Mack Hollins (Patriots) are gone, and that\u2019s not really a bad thing either after low impact last year. The Bills signed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/a.-football\/player\/josh-palmer-93464\">Josh Palmer<\/a> from the Chargers. He\u2019s not Stefon Diggs, but he was a solid target for Justin Herbert with career averages of 64.5% catch rate, 8.1 yards per target, and he\u2019s gone over 580 yards in each of the last three seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If Palmer is just your WR3 and fourth-leading receiver as planned, that\u2019s a good player for that role. They also signed Eljah Moore (Browns) for depth, and Curtis Samuel is back for a second season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But this is really about Dalton Kincaid and Keon Coleman stepping up as young players the Bills have spent high picks on the previous two seasons. Coleman had 3 catches for 22 yards in the playoffs. There\u2019s no more rookie excuse. He has to step up and become a more reliable target for Allen the way Shakir and Palmer can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With Kincaid, was the second-year decline just injury related? He missed four full games and played 7 percentage points fewer snaps over his rookie year. But he hasn\u2019t shown he can be a red-zone weapon with 2 touchdowns in each season, and 6.0 yards per target last year is a poor number you can\u2019t really afford from your TE1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the Bills can\u2019t foster big leaps for those players, it\u2019s hard to see this offense coming close to last year\u2019s scoring clip with the expected regression in turnovers and field position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"defense-wheres-the-big-pass-rusher\">Defense: Where\u2019s the Big Pass Rusher?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If there was a team that should have gone all out to acquire a top-tier edge rusher, it was the Bills. That\u2019s the player you need to cause havoc against those quarterbacks like Mahomes and Burrow. The Bills tried it a few years ago with Von Miller, but he unfortunately was another Buffalo defender to get injured back in 2022. For what it\u2019s worth, Miller had no sacks in five playoff games for the Bills in 2023-24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately for the Bills, teams like the Browns (Myles Garrrett) and Raiders (Maxx Crosby) ended up paying their superstars record-setting money this offseason, so no deals could be struck there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bills settled for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/a.-football\/player\/joey-bosa-93408\">Joey Bosa<\/a> from the Chargers. Maybe not the best sign your biggest addition on each side of the ball is a player the Chargers didn\u2019t want anymore, but Bosa is a 5-time Pro Bowler with 72.0 career sacks. The problem is he was the last first-round pick of the San Diego team, and he seems to carry that curse of bad durability and missing in action when you need him most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Basically, Bosa is the type of player who could have a huge impact on the November matchup with the Chiefs, then go missing with an injury in January when it\u2019s time for the playoff rematch. He\u2019s 30 and coming off a season with 5.0 sacks in 14 games, the same number of games he played in 2022-23 combined. His best days are behind him, but maybe if the Bills do some load management with him, he could make some important plays for the pass rush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking of injured Bills, corner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/a.-football\/player\/tre&#039;davious-white-92368\">Tre\u2019Davious White<\/a> is back and likely a starter again. It\u2019s been a long road to recovery since his season-ending injury on Thanksgiving in the 2021 season. He\u2019s played sparingly since and things didn\u2019t go well with the Rams in 2024 before he finished the year in Baltimore, even playing in the playoff loss in Buffalo. We\u2019ll see if he can turn back the clock, but the Bills aren\u2019t getting the vintage White.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Otherwise, the Bills look very familiar on defense with the likes of Ed Oliver, Greg Rousseau, Matt Milano, Christian Benford, etc. all returning. Shaq Thompson joins the linebacker depth after a decade with the Panthers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bills used their top five draft picks on defense this year, but some of those players like second-round tackle T.J. Sanders (South Carolina) and third-round end Landon Jackson (Arkansas) are likely depth players and potential starters down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Buffalo rookie to (maybe) watch this year is first-round corner Maxwell Hairston from Kentucky. He\u2019s got an <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Maxwell_Hairston\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">unsavory legal history<\/a>, but if he\u2019s cleaned up his act, he could be a solid player for them. Just don\u2019t expect to see him in September as he\u2019s landed on injured reserve to start his rookie year. But maybe he can be an impact player come January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"best-bets-for-the-2025-bills\">Best Bets for the 2025 Bills &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve already gone over how the schedule is so favorable to Buffalo with home games against all the right teams. Even if this team faces some turnover regression, we\u2019ve seen them win games in spite of that before. We\u2019ve seen them lose playoff games with no turnovers too, so again, it\u2019s about avoiding the costly ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But since the Bills are going to get to host all those teams like the Ravens, Chiefs, Bengals, Buccaneers, and Eagles this year, and since I don\u2019t believe in the Jets, Dolphins, or Patriots as 2025 contenders, the Bills should go over 11.5 wins and win the AFC East for the sixth year in a row.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m also going to go with the Bills to win the AFC\u2019s No. 1 seed, though this could be a year where that only takes 12 or 13 wins to secure unlike the 15 the Chiefs had last year. We don\u2019t see any AFC team winning 15 games this year (or 14 for that matter).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But am I going to go against history to pick the Bills to reach the Super Bowl and possibly win it? That would mean I\u2019d have to believe in McDermott getting it done in the playoffs every week. That would mean I\u2019d have to expect Kincaid and Coleman to play great with Allen this year. That would mean Bosa, White, and Hairston are impact players for the defense, and no one important gets hurt for the playoffs again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No, I\u2019m not convinced those things will all happen for this team. I think \u201c13 Seconds\u201d was supposed to be the moment for Allen and McDermott, and they won\u2019t get to where they went until something changes there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And you know the quarterback is staying put.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>NFL Pick<\/strong>: Buffalo Bills over 11.5 wins (-160) at FanDuel<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>NFL Pick<\/strong>: Buffalo Bills to win AFC No. 1 seed (+260) at FanDuel<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Related Articles:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/dolphins-2025-nfl-season-preview\">Miami Dolphins 2025 NFL Season Preview and Picks: Another Day Closer to Death, Is Mike McDaniel Making It to 2026?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/jets-2025-nfl-season-preview\">New York Jets 2025 NFL Season Preview and Picks: Will Aaron Glenn End the NFL\u2019s Longest Playoff Drought?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/patriots-2025-nfl-season-preview\">New England Patriots 2025 NFL Season Preview and Picks: Will Mike Vrabel Bring the Patriots Back to Super Bowl Contention?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/buccaneers-2025-nfl-season-preview\">Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2025 NFL Season Preview and Picks: Are They Still the Kings of the NFC South?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/falcons-2025-nfl-season-preview\">Atlanta Falcons 2025 NFL Season Preview and Picks: Give Michael Penix a Defense and This Playoff Drought Should End<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/panthers-2025-nfl-season-preview\">Carolina Panthers 2025 NFL Season Preview and Picks: Is Year 3 Now or Never Time for Bryce Young?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/saints-2025-nfl-season-preview\">New Orleans Saints 2025 NFL Season Preview and Picks: Kellen Moore Has a Tough Quarterback Decision to Make<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/texans-2025-nfl-season-preview\">Houston Texans 2025 NFL Season Preview and Picks: You Get Busy Living or You Get Busy Dying in the AFC South<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/colts-2025-nfl-season-preview\">Indianapolis Colts 2025 NFL Season Preview and Picks: Is That a Manning in the Draft to Save This Team\u2019s Bleak Future?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/jaguars-2025-nfl-season-preview\">Jacksonville Jaguars 2025 NFL Season Preview and Picks: Will the \u2018Duuuval\u2019 Dark Horses Win the AFC South Behind Liam Coen and Travis Hunter?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/titans-2025-nfl-season-preview\">Tennessee Titans 2025 NFL Season Preview and Picks: Will Cam Ward Be Great Enough for Us To Remember the Titans?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/lions-2025-nfl-season-preview\">Detroit Lions 2025 NFL Season Preview and Picks: Is Dan Campbell\u2019s Super Bowl Window Closing?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/vikings-2025-nfl-season-preview\">Minnesota Vikings 2025 NFL Season Preview and Picks: We Just Have to Choose Our Adventure with J.J. 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Talking about &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":11403,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[169,421,1786,347,1405,439,2229,1719,3957,420,1544,343,2353,1545,2231,344,3956,47,444,418,350,1406,572,48,2218],"class_list":["post-11386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl","tag-afc","tag-afc-east","tag-amari-cooper","tag-bills","tag-buffalo","tag-chiefs","tag-curtis-samuel","tag-dalton-kincaid","tag-homefield","tag-jets","tag-joey-bosa","tag-josh-allen","tag-josh-palmer","tag-kansas-city","tag-keon-coleman","tag-lamar-jackson","tag-max-hairston","tag-nfl","tag-patrick-mahomes","tag-patriots","tag-ravens","tag-sean-mcdermott","tag-stefon-diggs","tag-super-bowl","tag-tredavious-white","article_type-discover","article_type-news","entity_type-competitor","inspiration-365s-articles","inspiration-planned"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11386"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11406,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11386\/revisions\/11406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}